Jockey Alan Garcia guides Stately Victor to a 4 1/4-length victory to win the $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes horse race at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. on April 10. The money was enough to earn him a spot in the Kentucky Derby.

PEDULLA'S DERBY DOZEN

USA TODAY's Tom Pedulla rates the top contenders on the road to the May 1 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville:

Eskendereya: Dominated last two starts

Lookin At Lucky: Unlucky in last race

Sidney's Candy: Rolled in Santa Anita Derby

Ice Box: Pulled Florida Derby surprise

Odysseus: Key test in Blue Grass

Jackson Bend: Been chasing Eskendereya

Mission Impazible: Late kick won Louisiana Derby

Noble's Promise: Super consistent

Awesome Act: Lost shoe in Wood Memorial

Super Saver: Heads Arkansas Derby field

Dublin: Arkansas Derby contender

Rule: Blistering speed

Note: Top contenders prior to Sunday's announcement that Eskendereya will not race in the Derby.

By Tom Pedulla, USA TODAY

Stately Victor owned one previous victory and had been outrun in four allowance races before he pulled the greatest upset in Blue Grass Stakes history on April 10 on the Polytrack surface at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. He paid $82.80 and stamped an unlikely Kentucky Derby ticket by gaining more than half of the $750,000 purse.

Line of David failed in his first three career starts on California's synthetic surfaces and was trying a traditional dirt track for the first time when he rolled on the front end in the $1 million Arkansas Derby. That improbable development secured his spot among what is expected to be a full field of 20 for the May 1 Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs.

Homeboykris has shown little at 3 but did enough at 2 in winning the Champagne Stakes to have $250,000 in graded-stakes earnings, the sole factor in determining who is eligible to start in the coveted race. If you're in the top 20 in graded-stakes earnings, you're in if you choose to be. The 2-year-old stands 21st in earnings, giving him a shot at taking his place in an already-criticized field.

Owner Robert LaPenta, whose gritty Jackson Bend stands 22nd at $230,000, calls for change. "With the system the way it is, a lot of great 3-year-olds, which this race and the whole Triple Crown is all about, may not get in," he says.

LaPenta adds of Jackson Bend, "To finish second in the Holy Bull, second in the Fountain of Youth, second in the Wood (Memorial) and not being able to get a spot in the Derby, when I think he's better than many of the quality 3-year-olds in the country, is kind of a shame."

Eightyfiveinafifty and Pleasant Prince enter Saturday's $200,000 Derby Trial with the hope of a victory, which would bring enough cash to join other suspect starters in a crowded opening leg of the Triple Crown.

Eightyfiveinafifty is 30th at $120,000 and is the early 8-5 favorite for the Derby Trial. Pleasant Prince (28th at $162,500) was seventh in the Blue Grass.

According to Churchill Downs spokesman John Asher, track officials are well aware of dissatisfaction with the qualification system. It is included in their annual review of the 1¼-mile classic.

"Quite frankly, we have not come up at this point with a better system," he says. "We've looked at a points system. We've looked at graded earnings based on distance. We've looked at weighing races based on grades."

Former trainer Elliott Walden, racing manager for WinStar Farm, advocates a process that would emphasize 3-year-old accomplishments over success at 2 and would reward success in route (distance) races compared with sprints.

Another thought would be to use a selection committee. But Asher notes the storybook emergence of 50-1 Mine That Bird, who was driven from New Mexico for last year's Derby, as an argument against a selection committee.

"We've seen some wonderful performances from horses that a collection of humans would not have allowed into the race, including last year," he said.

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